I Hope He is a Gentleman
by Jessy Dalton
Summary: Sly, in denial about his feeling for Carmelita, falls for a pretty face... that belongs to one of Paris's most dangerous criminals. Sly/Carm love fiction. First Fanfic! Please review!
1. Chapter 1

DiScLaImEr: I do not by any was own any of these characters. They belong to Suckerpunch Inc.

Chapter One

Carmelita was sitting at the table she set up in the small apartment she rented. The chief sent her home early that day after she busted a car thief who had been terrorizing the city of love for quite some time but, being the overachieving fox she was, Carmelita brought home and began filling out the necessary paperwork and procedures.

Even though when she came home she usually hung up her leather jacket, her keys, took off her boots and opened the curtains,today she left the curtains closed. She didn't want to be distracted by the people and cars passing by. Little did she know, her most sought after criminal, Sly Cooper, who, by chance, was extremely charming and handsome, was just across the alleyway on the rooftop. He glanced at his watch, which bore the Cooper Gang logo. It was 2:47. 'Good,' He thought, 'I have until 7.' He leaped onto a phone line and slid down to the side of her apartment complex and began climbing up to the air vent. He popped off the cover and scrambled inside. After a short crawl through the ventilation system, he silently pulled off the grill and jumped inside. Even though no one's around, or so he thought, silence became a habit, a way of life. Not something you can turn off and on. He glanced around his officer's room. Her bed was made, hastily it seemed, her clothes were all folded and put away, the carpet recently vacuumed and the windows seemed clean. 'Nothing to do here,' Sly thought. He quickly dug through his pocket, and placed a blue logo card on Carmelita's pillow. He crept down the hallway and began to walk into the kitchen before he hurriedly dashed around the corner. Carmelita was sitting at the table! 'What in the world is she doing here? She's not supposed to come home until 7:00! She probably finally cracked that car thief and Mr. what's-his-face finally let her go home early. She deserves some time off.' Sly peeked around the corner and stared at the back of her head. 'She's so beauti- No, Sly, stop it! She's a cop, cops are the people trying to whip your sneaky butt...' he let the last thought draw on. 'But what is she doing? Paperwork. Dang, that girl needs a night off.' Sly continued to stare and think about the current subject of his attention. 'and I can make sure she has a night to remember.' Sly concluded.

Sly silently crept up behind the fox and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of her shampoo, something fresh and clean smelling. He put his hand on top of a pile of her work, held his breath, and awaited her reaction. He let his breath out after a minute and lowered his head to look at her face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing steady. "Aw," He said under his breath. She looked like an angel when she was sleeping. Sly criticized himself for the last thought. He pulled her chair back and picked her up, cradling her in his arm. His expression became very tender and he quickly made it stern again. He was glad she could not see it. 'Why are you even doing this? Because I'm a gentlemen.' Sly tried to stop thinking, he was getting confused. He walked into her bedroom and lay her down on the bed, next to his calling card he left on her pillow. He pulled off her shoes and pulled the blanked out from under her then lay them on top of her.

He then did what he came there to do. He went over to her laptop and, using the code Bentley gave him, began searching through the files of the cases she was working on. He found the one he was looking for and downloaded it on a compact disc Bentley supplied him with. It was a case that Carmelita had been working on for a little over a month that Sly had managed to find information on. The Cooper Gang always looked to make sure the criminals they stole from landed in jail, or at least were completely ruined. They also liked to help people out, especially good, hardworking people, for example, Carmelita. If they could plan there heists to somehow assist her, it wouldn't be a problem.

He heard Carmelita shift around in her sleep. 'Gotta go, gotta go.' He said and, before he escaped, he stole a glance at her. She was smiling, she looked happy. He ran down the hall and acrobatically left the apartment that belonged to the woman who was always chasing after him. Not that he minded, of course.


	2. Chapter 2

DiScLaImEr: I do not by any was own any of these characters except Monique Devereaux and Jaque Devereaux. The others belong to Suckerpunch Inc.

Chapter Two

Carmelita stirred. Her dreams were good. She met a boy, he was handsome, charming, chivalrous and made her feel like the princesses she grew up learning about. He was a carpenter who worked with a nearby company and he made her feel very comfortable, and he respected her old-fashioned, religious based values. But the weird thing, the really weird thing, was that the boy was Cooper. Sly Cooper, the thief that she had been chasing up and down Paris for years. Maybe, that was who Sly Cooper would've been had he been adopted from Happy Trails Orphanage and gone to school, a nice one, had parents. Parents that would've joined the PTO, carpooled him to basketball games, took him to church, talked him through his teen years, his first love and eventually his first heartbreak. Or maybe her heart was telling her something, 'Look at who this boy could be. Look at what a man he could clean up to become!' Her heart could whisper urgently.

Carmelita finally woke up, disappointed that it was just a dream. 'Too bad,' she thought, 'He'd've probably turned out very well.' How little she knew...

"Hey guys, I'm home!" Sly shouted as he walked into the front door of their temporary home. They were staying at an old gas station, accompanied with housing, that had gone out of business years ago right outside Paris. He took off his hat and jacket and hung it on the coat rack right inside the doorway. He walked down the hall and turned into the second bedroom on his right. He quickly changed into some basketball shorts and an old white t-shirt. He scurried around his room, cleaning. He'd been doing a lot of that lately, it must have been a nervous habit, it stopped him from thinking... too much. Once his floor was vacuumed twice to perfection, he went to the bathroom, pulled out some Windex and began scrubbing at his windows and mirrors. He sprayed, wiped, sprayed and wiped until he could hear them squeak. He then ran his hand along his bookcase, it was already gathering dust, he concluded even though he dusted it that morning. After a quick dusting, he began to straighten his pictures. Sly had an obsession with photography. When he took pictures it was like he was being set free for a moment. It was his own way of putting time in a bottle, one picture could bring him back to the same moment again and again. His pictures were a wide variety of things ranging from his favorite heists, his pals, Bentley and Murray, and last but not least Inspector Carmelita Fox, the woman who'd been on his heels since the day they met at an Opera House. In each picture her expression was irked, irritated or just annoyed. Except one, one he had kept and used as a bookmark. She was smiling, fresh out of police academy, probably 19. She was wearing a baseball cap, backwards and was playing catch with her father, who looked remarkably like her except for his freckles and shorter black hair. He took this picture of her a week after she had first been assigned to him. "Damn, she's... gorgeous." He said, barely audibly. Sly looked in the mirror and stared at himself. 'What do you think your doing?' he asked himself. 'Your working at something that will never happen, something that will never be.' He tore his gaze from the mirror and flopped on his bed. "i know..." he whispered, letting it trail off into the immaculate distance of his room. He lay there for a minute, closing his eyes trying to calm his crazy almost teenage-like emotions.

He opened his eyes and stared at his off-white ceiling then realized he had to do something to get his mind off of things. He sprung off his bed and walked into their living room where Bentley, an extremely intelligent turtle, was tapping away on his laptop, mumbling to himself. Murray, an amazingly strong and large, sensitive hippo was watching a cartoon on TV. Neither noticed Sly walking into the room. Sly watched them and a smile grew. The kind of smile you get from just looking at the people you love, being happy. He stood there a minute, becoming amazingly captivated by their enjoyment. "Um..." He started. Bentley and Murray didn't even jump. They were used to it. "It's almost 6:30, do any of you want to play some basketball?" He asked. He knew what their answers were even before he brought it up. No from Bentley, he was too small and, face it, he can barely even walk without tripping over something. Murray was already absorbed in something that was designed for 11 year olds and he was too tall to play. He would just stand next to the net and drop the ball in, over and over and over again. "its okay, Sly." Bentley mumbled from behind his computer and Murray just shook his head, "Maybe later."

"Okay guys, i'll just shoot some hoops myself." Sly replied. He didn't want them to know how badly he didn't want to be alone. "Wait, Bent." He said, trying to create conversation. "what are you working on? You look pretty determined." He said a silent prayer, hoping he was on to something. "Actually, Sly, I'm analyzing the information you retrieved from Inspector Fox's Gateway computer. It seems this case, ya know, the one involving the illegal transportation of potassium cyanide, is fully operating in Paris. The ring leader seems to be a Monique Devereaux, the only daughter of Jacque Devereaux, the inventor of the Huntnitize. She grew up playing the perfect daughter role, but when she was 17 she started speaking about how people could read her mind and everyone was plotting against her. Now 21, she's been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Some accredit it to the fact that her dad created a device to hypnotize his prey..." Bentley let the last thought linger in the air obviously going over what he just said. "Anyways, back to Mademoiselle Devereaux. She began hunting, just like her father, but her liscense was taken away when she was a diagnosed Schizophrenic. She started fooling around behind the law and became very wealthy selling potassium cyanide to religous cults and hitmen." He then paused at Murray's confused look. "Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound that causes caridiac arrest within two hours of consumption." Murray blinked. Twice. "You drink, or eat, this and you'll have a heart attack two hours later." Bentley explained, again.

"okay, i get it." Murray said, truthfully.

"that's really interesting." Sly said, trying to be nice. He felt better when he was nice, it just made him feel good. "When do we strike?"

"well, there's a reason I didn't tell you this Sly." Bentley said, struggling to be nice and polite to his best friend. "We all know you have a tendancy to... um... er... well, Sly, your kind of... a lady's man." Bentley said finally coming to grips with his explanation. "Monique is rumored to be unbelievable gorgeous and charming and i don't think we should put you around that kind of person in your life right now." He finished gentley.

By this time Sly had sat on the ugly yellow couch they had set up. Out of all the answers, he had not expected that. He looked at his little green friend. "what do you mean, this time in my life?" Sly responded, trying to not sound aggresive.

"Listen, Sport, we've all noticed that you've been trying to stay busy. You've vacuumed your carpet 5 times today! You've been getting barely any sleep, and you've been eating way more then usual. They're all signs of borderline depression, Sly. We know somethings going on that your trying to avoid. We would've talked to you about it but we both know that you are the quiet type. We don't think we need to add lady trouble to whatever's wrong." Sly looked down into his lap. He wanted to deny everything. He wanted to say he was okay, he didn't know why he wasn't sleeping, or why he was so hungry, or why he couldn't sit still. He wanted to say that everything was fine, nothing was wrong but, an equal part of him wanted Bentley to look him in the eyes when he denied everything and say, really? He wanted to tell them the truth, Carmelita's been on my mind day and night. She's a cop, i'm a theif. It'd never work out. But guys, oh, she's so gorgeous and beautiful, inside and out. And they'd try to understand, really try to. They're great friends, he knew, but they'd never be able to see what he saw and feel what he feels so often. He didn't want them to worry about him more. They might even try to help, but no one could know what to do. He wanted to run out of the room with his basketball, shoot some hoops, and pretend that everything was perfectly normal. That he grew up in a family that held him through all of lifes tragedies and to jerk him to reality when his head got too big. He'd pretend to go to church every sunday, then out to lunch afterwards. Then when they all got home he and his adopted brothers would change clothes and play some baseball. He could fantasize having a real career, maybe being a carpenter because, after all, he had nimble hands. He'd fall in love with a pretty girl, though he had trouble believing there was ever a girl as pretty as Carmelita. Heck, maybe, if he was feeling daring, he'd pretend that Carmelita was attainable, not just some tantalizing object of affection. But more than anything, he wanted them all to be happy. His friends were his lifeline. They grew up together in the orphanage and supported eachother, they were family. They're both so worthy of happiness. And himself, he wanted to be happy too. He wanted Carmelita to find the right man, whomever he may be, and for her to be the happiest she'd ever been.

Sly finally looked up and he looked at the face of the two men he'd grown up with. He blinked, he'd never let them see him cry. "Guys," He started, but his voice cracked. "I know something's going on in my life, but," He trailed off. His friends looked at him understandingly. "i'm working on it. But i do need something to get my mind off of this... thing." He then brightened up, feeling better knowing that he could tend to his raw instincts and put some horrible person behind bars. "I don't mind meeting a pretty lady." What a typical Sly Cooper thing to say.


	3. Chapter 3

DiScLaImEr: I do not by any was own any of these characters except Monique Devereaux and Jaque Devereaux. The others belong to Suckerpunch Inc.

Chapter 3

After a few minutes of thinking about her dream, she gasped. How did she get in this bed? 'I was just sitting at the table... COOPER!' She shouted. The way that boy made her sometimes. She wanted to just smack that thief. What had he done this time? The previous times he'd come into her house he'd done harmless but very annoying things. He'd reorganized her closet so she didn't know where to find her second boot. He once waxed the floor so when she got back she slipped and slid all the way across the living room. And last, and certainley the most irksome, she came home once to find all the pictures of her sitting next to pictures of him. In every picture he was doing something different, cleaning, sneaking, reading, watching tv. But, her heart started to defend the orphaned raccoon, he didn't always mess you up. Remember that time he brought you flowers? Carmelita did remember, she remembered very well. One day she walked into her apartment and found a bouquet of flowers with a note that said 'Everytime you find a flower, look west and think of me.' For the next week she found flowers almost everywhere. In every cabinet, in cereal boxes, even one under her pillow. She'd smile and then grow irritated but, she was, in fact, thinking of the devilish animal that put them everywhere. She started to make her bed and saw his calling card. Carmelita sighed rather loudly and was about to put it on her bookcase before a thought came to her. She went to the little room that was meant to be a laundry room that really just held boxes she hadn't unpacked in the almost year she'd been living there. She found the box labeled Games and she peered inside for a dart board. A small smile came to her lips, there, on top of the dart board, was pinned a red rose.

The Next Day

Carmelita sat at her desk and sighed. She had just finished filling out the mandatory paperwork for the case she just cracked and now she was starting on the next one. It seemed that a schizophrenic was dealing potassium cyanide. Carmelita pulled out the drug dealer's folder and, at that, sighed again. The woman was a somali cat. Her hair was deep, deep black yet her fur was white with the expression of gray around her eyes. Her eyes were a deep deep green and her lips made the perfect pout. Her dark hair was long and ruler straight. In one word she was gorgeous in three she was drop-dead gorgeous and in four words you still couldn't be able to describe her. She was tall and lanky but not in a gangly, clumsy way but in a lady like gracefulness that keeps you on your toes. "Wow, life is sure unfair." Carmelita said outloud. Too bad she didn't know that someone thought she was just as, if not more, beautiful then the Somali.

"Okay, now, everyone, be quiet." Bentley said to his audiance of two. "Tonight Ms. Devereaux is throwing an extravaganza of some sorts for her current and future buyers. Now is the time to strike. We are going to download all the information from her pc and then, using the beautiful invention of internet, we are going to download this." Bentley pointed to his own laptop which began playing a pointless song shared between a sandwhich and an orange. He then paused it. "This song has 93 verses and will go on for 2.5 hours and then repeat it self infinate times. I will program the download to be excruciating slow and unterminatable so she'll be forced to download the whole thing which will hopefulling take up all of her memory and, if things go correctly, forcing her computer to overload."

Sly nodded, understanding the plan. Bentley looked at Sly and for a second his mind was caught off gaurd, which didn't happen very often. Sly looked different, he didn't look broken, like he'd given up. He didn't look depressed like all he wanted was sleep. But he look determined. This shouldn't be a weird thing but, the determination in his eyes was different. He normally was just determined to get the job done, but this time he was determined to get better, to be happy again. He'd forget Carmelita and there nonexistant future. Bentley regained his composure. "Sly, your job is to distract Monique, which, considering your personality, shouldn't be too hard. Just be your flirtatious self and ask her to dance a lot. You'll do fine, buddy." Bentley tapped Sly on the shoulder. "Murray, you'll keep the van safe and sound outside her mansion and I'll find my way into the computer room and get the downloads started." Bentley nodded, thought for a second, then grinned. "We're leaving in an hour to get Sly's disguise. Sly, go take a shower and use good smelling shampoo. My research suggests the females are attracted to fresh scent so yeah, i'll leave that up to you." Sly laughed and told him he'll be back in a half hour. He ran to his room and locked the door. After he grabbed his towl, started the water and jumped into the shower he realized something. This gave him time to think. "Crap," Sly said. He didn't like the sound of his own thoughts so he did something very unusual, he started to sing.

Meanwhile in the living room Bentley looked at the picture of Monique Devereaux. He tried not to drool. "I hope Sly knows what he's getting into." He said to Murray. "Bent, whaddya mean?" Murray said, loping over there. "Wow, that girl's as pretty as Inspector Fox." Bentley snorted and was about to respond when they heard the radio suddenly turn on. "What the?" Murray said. They both glanced around, trying to think of where the noise could be coming from. Suddenly Bentley smiled, holding up a finger to his lips to signal silence, he pointed his other hand toward the bathroom Sly was currently occupying. His suprisingly good voice was traveling throughout the little house. He was singing an anti- love song that had been on the radio that morning. Bentley and Murray started cracking up after he sang the lyrics, "Damn all these beau-ti-ful girls." and moved into the living room to continue what they were doing in the first place.

An hour and a half later at the Le Cheris a sales representitive brought Sly a Navy Blue pinstripe suit. He tried it on and the swooning in the store was obvious as a fire alarm. "Um, i think I like this one." Sly said, rather impressed by the ladies's reactions, 'This'll be good for Devereaux.' "My hair just looks out of place, the way it dried." Bentley had to admit Sly's hair dried rather messy but he thought it looked good, not that he'd say so of course. Right on que a soft voice spoke up. "Um, monsieur? I think the way your hair dried looks good in contrast to the suit." Sly smiled, hey, who doesn't like a compliment. He looked to where the voice came from, it was a short little white mouse. He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Merci, mademouiselle." He said with a charming smile. The mouse giggled and blushed rather apparently. Sly turned to his men and said, "You heard the lady. Let's get out of here." Bentley thanked the employees and paid for the suit. "Thanks again," he said with his nerdy smile as they walked out the door. They hopped in the van and drove half an hour to the mansion. When they got there Bentley asked Sly to go over his alias once more. "My name is Sylvester Copper. Born and raised in Italy, my dad was a drug-dealer but was caught and captured by none other than Juan Miguel Fox, Carmelita's dad. The rest I'll just be myself." Bentley nodded with satisfaction. He motioned for the door and before Sly got out he turned to his lifelong buddies and said, "Guys, I know at time that I might be the leader or something but just know that without either or you i'd probably be in jail right now." He smiled a meloncholy smile and leaped out of the van then ran to the entrance.

When Sly walked in he was impressed. The halls were magnificantly decorated, very tasteful. He traveled down the hall and finally came to the ballroom. He stepped inside and gasped, for two reasons. One, the ballroom was beautiful. The high ceilings were clad with banners and signs. There were crystal sculptures and ice fountains. Two long tables were located on each side of the room that had every kind of french cuisine you could think of. And two, the hostess was beautiful. She was a gorgeous cat as tall as he was with straight black hair and white fur with gray around her eyes. He gazed at her and, his confidence high, walked straight up to her, took her hand, at which her head whipped around, and kissed the back of her hand. "Madamoiselle Devereaux." He said charmingly. She smiled, "Oui, how did you know it was me, Monsieur..."

"Copper, Sylvester Copper." He said, mustering up his best smile. "And i knew it was you because your the most beautiful woman here."

"Oh, your too kind, Monsieur Copper." She blushed. She was wearing a long red gown with a slit that went almost to the top of her thigh. The back opened into a scoop that ended at the same length as her hair. Her feet had white stilettos making her legs look amazingly long. She blushed again when she realized Sly was eyeing her body. Sly had trouble breathing. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and he was talking to her, he was less then two feet away from her. The band started playing a medium paced song. "May I have this dance?" Sly asked with a bow. Madamoiuselle Devereaux giggled and nodded. They started dancing an easy waltz which, after a few minutes slowed down considerably. Sly drew her closer and he didn't notice her smiling at the smell of his fur. They didn't say much except an occasional comment about the food or decorations. When the song ended she bade him goodbye and scurried off to tend to other guests. Sly took a deep breath and made his way to the snack bar. Once there he watched Monique with an intent gaze. He saw her say something and start to walk away. 'Now's a good time for a distraction.' He thought. He made his way to the door she was heading for. Once they were within 5 feet of eachother he said, "Madamoiuselle Devereaux, we meet again." He added a side smile. Monique's heart began to beat faster, 'What a handsome raccoon.', she thought. She smiled and replied, "I was just headed out to the courtyard, it seems to be heating up in here." She paused, "Would you like to come?"

Sly weighed the possibilities, it could be a trap, his brain told him. His heart, however, told him that she wouldn't do that. "Accompany a beautiful lady to the courtyard. Who in his right mind would refuse?" He offered her his arm which she looped her delicate hand through. They walked in silence and listened to the music as it faded. When they got to the courtyard Monique broke the silence.

"Tell me mysterious friend, where are you from." She said, letting go of Sly's arm and walking over to sit near a fountain.

"I was born and raised in Paris." He said, remaining standing at the spot where she'd left him. "And what about you, lovely lady?"

"Flatterer," She accused playfully, starting to relax. "I was born in Bath, London, while my mother was on vacation with my darling daddy." She smiled.

"So your close to your father?" Sly said, a pang of sadness washing through him. His father was murdered when he was 8.

"Yes, i love my daddy very much. Some people have been saying some very bad things about him lately though." She said, shuddering, she didn't like to think about it. She got off of the bench and turned around to face the fountain. Sly was amazed by her. She was so gorgeous, and so poised. He could barely stand it. 'Too bad this is only a disguise,' His heart said. Sly resisted the urge to laugh for no real reason. He snuck up behind her stealthily. "Sticks and stones." he whispered in her ear. He smiled as she jumped. She whipped around and, at that moment, she realized how close he was to her. She giggled at the silliness of her previous fright. She started to say something but Sly put a finger on her lips. She shuddered at his touch but, in a good way. "Listen." He whispered, barely audible. The sound of music could be barely heard from the ballroom. He took a step back and bowed. "Would you care to dance, madamoiuselle?" She giggled and, without answering, grabbed his left hand and put her hand on his shoulder. They started dancing and after a moment she relaxed in Sly's arms. He pulled her closer and she rested her head against his shoulder. He was suprised how light her head was. After the music stopped she gasped. "Oh my, we've been here for almost 20 minutes. I need to get back to my party!" She pulled away from Sly and thanked him. She started to walk away but stopped and turned around, "Monsieur?". Sly nodded. "Yes, beautiful?" She blushed and continued, "It may be untraditional, but, um..." She looked at the ground. "would you like to accompany me to the 39th Annual Scattini Family Ball?" Sly blinked, he was honored and excited to be asked to such a prestegious event. "Of course, my lady." He said, picking up her hand and kissing the back. She looked at her hand and when and noticed inside there was a little peice of paper with a phone number. "Call me," He said. She turned around and walked away. Sly stood there, mesmerized for awhile, when he heard Bentley's voice in his ear. "Okay Sly, I'm all done here. Meet us in the van." Sly scurried away and when he got to van he went inside. "Everything go according to plan?" Bentley asked. Sly instantly thought of Monique. About how beautiful she was and everything he he felt for her. Then lastly, he thought about how she asked him out later. "Yeah, Bent. Everything went as planned." he said with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

DiScLaImEr: I do not by any was own any of these characters except Monique Devereaux. The others belong to Suckerpunch Inc.

Chapter 4

It was 11:47 when they got home. Sly took off his tux, hung it up and changed for bed. Once he had said goodnight to the guys he jumped into his bed. That's when the problems began. 'What are you doing? She's a criminal that your supposed to be destroying!' His head told him.

'Yeah, but, I think... I'm in love.' His heart defended.

'She's crazy, she's probably just using you.'

'No, she's different.' His heart said, almost sure.

'Okay, so your in love with a schizophrenic, crazy criminal girl who is most likely using you for some reason and all I have to say, or ask, is; What about Carmelita.' It may sound pretty crazy but his heart had no response. 'Where was the hope in that?... She never loved me back and we never had a chance." it argued a moment later although much quieter.

Sly sighed and rolled over, he was tired. He jumped out of his bed, ran over to his bookcase, grabbed his Ipod, shoved the earphones in his ear then climbed back into bed. Once he was nice and comfy he pressed play. _Damn all these beautiful girls. _

Three day's later, Sly woke up to the ringing of his phone. He checked his clock, it was 9:17. "Hello? Sly Cooper." He said sleepily.

"Monsiour Copper?" A sweet voice said on the other end. It was Monique Devereaux!

"Ahh, Madamoiuselle Devereaux, please, Call me Sylvester, better yet, call me Sly." He said instantly waking up. He sat up in his bed. He heard her giggle on the other side, what a beautiful sound. "Then you may call me Monique, Sly." She giggled again.

"What do I owe the pleasure of hearing your musical voice this morning to?" Sly asked, he was curious to know the nature of her call.

"Well, we need to coordinate our outfits for the ball. It's in 5 days! Are you available today to go shopping?"

"Let me check, please hold for a moment." Sly put the phone down, ran down the hall to see Bentley sitting at the table, eating. He asked the turtle if he could have the day off. "Um, sure Sly. What for?" Bentley asked, curious. "Oh, nothing really, just wanted to get some shopping done." Sly said, a smile spread across his face. He felt guilty knowing he was about to spend some time with a girl who'd be ruined in a few hours time thanks to him and his friends. He ran back down the hall and picked up the phone. "Yeah, beautiful. Everything's clear today. When do you want me to pick you up?" They discussed the details and decided on 11:30. After they hung up Sly began to panic. 'What do i wear?!' He thought. He ran to his closet and threw it open. He began sliding the clothes along the rack and finally, after half an hour, decided on a white button down shirt and some fitted jeans. He walked into the kitchen and made some toast. After it popped out of the toaster he grabbed it and walked into the living room. Bentley was still sitting at the table still tapping away at his computer, probably searching Theifnet for news about the heist they pulled the previous night. "Any news?" Sly asked. "Well, no, not yet. Ms. Devereaux is probably taking a break before getting into the rush of things again. I'm sure once she realizes whats going on it'll be all over Theifnet." Sly was secretly relieved that his date wouldn't be frazzled today. He sat down and watched over Bentley's shoulder for a few minutes. Finally, Bentley, who couldn't stand having someone watching him work, snapped. "Sly, gosh, i thought you were leaving."

"Damn... I'm leaving, i'm leaving." Sly walked out to the white mustang they managed to 'obtain'. Luckily, when on the heals of Panda King, Murray taught Sly how to drive stick shift. He checked his watch, it was already 11:10. 'Good,' He thought, 'It takes 15 minutes to get there.' He began to drive and finally arrived at 11:25. He waited a few minutes then walked up to the door. He knocked three times and waited and thirty seconds later, the door opened. In the doorway stood Monique. She wore a light green silky dress that seemed barely more than a slip. It ended mid-thigh and was supported by spaghetti straps. Her beautiful dark hair was held up by rhinestoned pins and she wore long dangling earrings. On her feet were black strappy heels. Sly tried to breath but found it hard to simply manage to contract and relax his lungs. "You're way too beautiful, girl." Sly said. She smiled a gorgeous smile and said, "That's what they tell me." Sly wondered if she was serious or not. 'Oh well,' he thought. 'At least she associates with truthful people.'

She hopped into his passenger seat and he started up the car and they drove away. On the way there he turned on the radio. They listened to the top 40 countdown and when the song I Like Money came on she gasped and said, "I love this song." She started singing along to the extremely preppy and fake song. Sly chuckled and listened to her, she had quite a beautiful voice. He was suprised at her choice of song but he shook it off after a moment. She gave him directions to a little shop called Bliss Botique. He parked the car and they walked inside. She instantly walked to the back of the store where the dresses where. She grabbed a light blue one and, without a word, walked into the dressing room. Sly looked around, and seeing that there were no men's clothes, took a seat on a bench outside the dressing rooms. After a few minutes, she walked out and Sly's mouth fell open, literally. The dress was very short, in fact, if she put her hands at her side the dress would end at her wrists. The front was a scoop neck and the back opened all the way down to her bottom at which in closed in a square. The whole thing was a pale blue which made her eyes shine. "I... um, I... vote that one." Sly stammered. Monique laughed, flattered by his expression. She looked in the mirror and pouted her beautiful lips. "It makes me look fat." Sly eye's bugged out and his mouth fell open in disbelief, "What?" he spat out. "You are a lot of things and in that amazing list of amazing things it does not say a single thing about fat." She turned around and smiled. "Okay, if you like it so much I'll get it." She skipped to the dressing room and changed out of it. A few minutes later, at the checkout stand the total reached up to 2,995. She shrugged and handed the clerk her credit card. "Have a nice day." He said as they walked out the door.

Once they were in the car she gave him directions to a tuxedo place. Once inside they decided on a black tux with dark blue pinstripes and a light blue tie. As he was walking back to the dressing room to change he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with Monique. She didn't say anything but put her hand on his tie and started to slowly run it through her hands. This simple gesture made Sly smile very tenderly as he watched her just run her hands over it again and again. Finally she stopped and rested her hands on his chest. "You look very handsome." She said, slightly quiet. Sly smiled a goofy smile and was about to reply when she quickly stood on her tip-toes and kissed him on the nose. Sly blinked in suprise but suddenly got goosebumps. "Now before you get any ideas, go change out of that tuxedo." Sly laughed and walked into the dressing room. As he was changing his heart got to thinking. 'She kissed you!' It said in a happy way. But his brain quickley put a damper on the situation. 'You lied to the guys so you could go out with a criminal you were trying to bust!' Sly, not wanting to hear a second of it, changed as fast as he could and walked out of the dressing room to see that Monique had already payed for the tuxedo. He smiled and thanked her, that was one less thing to explain to the boys.

He checked his watch as they left, it was already 2:16! They listened to music again on the way home, Sly hummed along to the radio and Monique quietly sang along to the songs she knew. They didn't talk much, just a couple few-line conversations. When they got to her house he walked her up to her door. She said goodbye and, predictably, Sly leaned in to kiss her. The kiss wasn't very long but it was special. It was the second girl Sly had ever kissed, the first being Carmelita on the . "That was payback for earlier." He said, goofily. "Your a silly mister, Sly Copper." Sly blinked, thinking she got his name wrong but then quickly remembered. "Thats what they tell me." She laughed then with one last goodbye walked into her house and closed the door. Sly walked to his car and once inside he turned on the radio. "Damn all these beautiful girls..."


	5. Chapter 5

DiScLaImEr: I do not by any was own any of these characters except Monique Devereaux. The others belong to Suckerpunch Inc.

Chapter 5

Sly waited three days for a phone call from Monique and finally, at 5:23 pm he recieved a phone call from her. "Sly Copper." He said, he knew it was her from his caller ID. "Sly!" She said. "What're you doing tonight?" Sly thought for a moment. All his chores were done and Bentley hadn't said anything about a heist. "I'm free." He responded. He heard shuffling around on the other side of the line. "Great! Can you meet me at Bridge of Paris at 11 tonight?" Sly was slightly bewildered by her request but agreed quickly. "See you then, beautiful." He said. "Later handsome." She responded and then hung up. 'What the heck would she want me to be doing at a bridge at 11 at night?' His heart started beating at all the possibilities.

Later that night, when it was completely dark except for the stars and city lights, Sly met his lovely lady friend at the bridge. She was wearing a short red dress with blue ballet flats. Her hair was down and rested on her back. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "Sly." She gasped, his touch electrified her. He was slightly suprised that she didn't jump when he touched her. She twirled around in his arms and kissed him playfully on the cheek. Then she grabbed his arms softly and pryed herself away. She walked to the side of the bridge and sat down. Then she started talking about how her day went. Suprisingly this made him really happy. To hear the girl he loved just talk about what she had for lunch and what new shoes she bought was like listening to the most beautiful symphony in the world. When she stopped Sly took the chance to look around. He walked up to where she was sitting and stood there. He looked at all the lights and the stars.

"Do you ever wanna just jump?" She suddenly asked. Sly felt a shiver go down his spine and his heart rate increase greatly. His head whipped around and looked at her. "Not once." He said slowly and calmly. Every red flag ever invented started going off in his mind.

"Oh, I have." And with that she hoisted herself up onto the side of the bridge. Sly quickly grabbed her hand. He was scared out of his mind. She started walking along the side of the bridge, slowly and in rhythm, swinging her and Sly's arm softly. She started singing something in french slowly and prettily. He looked up at her that moment. She was so beautiful. Her dark hair was whipping around in the wind and her body looked almost just like a silouette. He was transfixed, scared and worried, and he barely noticed as the moments went by. "Sly, catch me." She whispered and jumped into his arms. He caught her, his fear finally subsiding. He knew she wasn't going to jump. He spun her around and when she was finally back on her feet he kissed her. After the kiss finished she just looked into his eyes.

Meanwhile, at the hideout, Bentley couldn't sleep and was finishing a book Sly had lent him. He turned the last page and got out of bed and scurried to Sly's room. The door was left slightly open. Bentley pushed it open and sighed when he saw that Sly's bed was empty. He hadn't said anything about going out and Bentley thought it was rather weird. Bentley decided to wait and see how the night unfolded. A few hours later Sly crept through the window. He was about to start to change when he heard some one clear their throat. He looked over and saw Bentley sitting in the corner of his room. "Where have you been?" He asked Sly. His voice sounded fake, a forced kind of nice. "I couldn't sleep so i just decided to go patrol the town." He said with a smile. He found it easier and easier to lie to his friends.

"That's a load of crap, Sly. You were with a girl." Bentley said, he could smell a slight aroma of lavender and his blue t-shirt was wrinkled on his shoulders and around his waist, places where romantic hands were often placed.

"Bent, what's up? I told you what I was doing." Sly pretended to play it off but Bentley was growing madder and madder. Sly had never lied to him.

"Why are you lying to me?" He said in a gruff voice.

"I would never lie to you, Bentley." Sly said with a smile, he was thinking about how to get out of the situation. "Look, i'm really tired. I need to hit the sack. We'll talk in the morning."

"Whatever, Sylvester." Bentley said. The way he said Sly's full name made Sly feel extremely guilty and very mad. Bentley walked out of the door and slammed the it shut.


	6. Chapter 6

DiScLaImEr: I do not by any was own any of these characters except Monique Devereaux. The others belong to Suckerpunch Inc.

Chapter Six

When Sly got up the next morning and stayed in his room until 3. The ball was that night and he was excited. and walked into the kitchen Bentley didn't say anything in greeting. Murray said, a little too loudly, "Morning Sly!" Sly just grunted and nodded. He didn't feel like talking. When Sly got his breakfast, toast and cereal, he sat down at the table in the living room.

"We haven't heard anything from the Inspector for awhile, Sly." Bentley said in a steely voice. "That wouldn't happen to be who you were with last night, could it?"

Sly, angry at the turtle for being so angry at him and accusational, though his most of his accusations were right, just shook his head. "No, Bentley, I wasn't playing kissy face with Inspector Fox." Bentley blinked, his unfimiliarity suprised him. Normally he would say Carmelita, or Inspector Carmelita, or at his most respecting, The Inspector. He made it sound like someone he'd only recently met or someone who he barely knew, not the woman that he'd been playing constant cops

and robbers, in every sense of the meaning, for the past few years. Bentley stared at him, 'Since when has he started lying to us. Was this a one time thing? Who was the girl?' Suddenly Bentley's thought took a different turn, 'What if this girl has been the reason for Sly's problems?'

"Okay, Sly." Bentley went back to reading the newspaper. After a minute of thinking Bentley said, "Look, Sly." He stopped to make sure he had his theivish friend's attention. He did. "Whatever it is and whoever you were with, you can tell me. Even if it is the inspector or hell, if it's Neyla, actually, scratch that. It's impossible. Maybe it's..." He snorted. "Maybe it's even Monique Devereaux." Sly pretended to think that was funny and smiled. Bentley smiled too when he saw Sly relax, but there was still something weird about his smile. It was the smile he used when he was lying. Suddenly, it dawned on Bentley. Sly heart started to beat faster and faster as he saw Bentley's wheels start to turn. He was figuring it out and there was nothing he could do to distract him. "Sly..." He said silently, his voice full of emotion. "No, Sly. You can't. She's a criminal!" Bentley said, his voice getting louder. Bentley felt something then, but he had no idea what it was. He was mad, and sad, and he was, what is that?, he was... disappointed. He had never been disappointed before in his best friend, he'd always been there for Bentley.

'She's a criminal.' It echoed in Sly's mind. He was talking about the woman he was in love with. "We're all criminals!' Sly yelled at Bentley. "Your talking about the woman I love!"

"You love her now?" Bentley said, suddenly quiet. His voice full of anger and disbelief.

"Yeah, Bentley, I do." Sly's voice was barely more than a growl. 'How dare he say that about her! She's the most wonderful woman in the world.'

Bentley stared at Sly for a second then got out of his chair and walked to his room. He was so mad he just wanted to wring the raccoon's neck! First, he falls for a girl this murdereous criminal then he lies to his best friend who had always been there for him. 'Who is he turning into? This isn't the Sly I know. Let's see, he first started acting OCD when we got back from the heist where he was trying to steal the ruby necklace from Countessa Pricellii. Thats when he got captured by Inspector Fox...' Things were starting to make sense. 'Is it possible...?' Bentley said and thought back.

_Sly had just flipped off the roof and was running down the alleyway. He reached the end and he thought he heard something. He turned around and to see Inspector Fox pointing her stun gun at him. "Ahh, my lovely lady." He said, starting to lay down charm. "Save the sweet talk for later." The beautiful fox said. _

_"So that promises a later?" Sly threw back, smiling because he knew she would become irritated._

_"Cooper, does everything have to be a sexual remark with you?" She said, biting her lip in annoyance. Little did Sly know that behind him was a very strong and large policeman with handcuffs. "Not usually," He said, "It depends if I want it to be." He raised an eyebrow suggestively. Suddenly Sly felt cold metal clamp on his hands and he cussed. He was handcuffed! "Sylvester Cooper, your under arrest." Sly couldn't not smile she was so happy to finally have him under arrest. "Officer, please put him in my car." She dismissed him with a nod and Sly was forced into the back seat of a cop car. Carmelita talked with the officer that caught Sly. He was a very large cheetah with a tear in his ear. She watched him get into his car and then hopped into the front seat of the one Sly was in. "Heya beautiful." He said. "I'm glad you chose to drive this car." _

_"Save it, Ringtail. Your such a flatterer." Carmelita laughed. She was so free-spirited knowing that there was no way her criminal could get away this time. _

_"Well, if you must know, I'm a lover, not a fighter." He replied. _

_"What does that have to do with anything?" She said, slowing down for a red light. Once they stopped she noticed a beggar on the side of the road. She rolled down the window and handed him something. Sly noticed it was a 30 Euro bill (About 40 American dollars)and he smiled. He would've done the same thing. "Well, i don't really know. I guess I was just trying to tell you that I was a lover." Carmelita snorted back laughter at his stupid response. "I'll be sure to include that in your write-up." She looked back at him through the rear-view mirror and he looked at her too. They held eachothers gaze for a few seconds until Carmelita looked back at the road. The light turned green and they continued to go. At the moment, unknown to Carmelita, Sly had wriggled out of his handcuffs. Sly watched her and a feeling spread through out his whole body. He had realized she was pretty but he had never noticed how beautiful she really was. And she was nice, Sly had spied on her enough to know that she'd always help someone when they needed it. He shook his head and tried to stop these feelings for a girl who'd never consider him if he were last boy in the world. The police station was now in sight. She pulled into the parking lot and parked. Right before she was going to get out of the car Sly said, "Wait." She turned around to look at him. Face to face. "What?" She said, slightly impatient. "Normally when I'm with police officers i'm thinking about Bentley and Murray and my dad and if I'm going to jail but when I'm with you all I can think about is how beautiful you are." He smiled embarassadly when he noticed how truthfully it sounded. Carmelita smiled and jumped out of the car. She went to his door and opened it. He kept his hands together until he was standing on the ground. He said something very quietly. "What?" Inspector Fox said, leaning in closer to hear what he had said. "I said, goodbye, gorgeous." He kissed her on the cheek and leaped on the top of his car then to a rooftop. He ran away into the darkness as he heard her yell, "Ringtail!"_

'Sly was in love with Inspector Fox! And he felt guilty because he was a thief and she was a cop and he'd hurt us if he ever tried to follow his heart so seeking refuge he put a little too much into his undercover work and fell head over heals for our beautiful criminal.' Bentley's heart was beating fast and his breathing was quickening also. 'I've got to talk to Sly!' Bentley ran out of his room and knocked on Sly's door. He didn't respond. "Sly, listen to me! I'm sorry I freaked out but I understand whats going on now!" He paused a moment and waited for a response. When Sly didn't respond he opened the door and walked in. Sly wasn't in there. On his bed was his calling card, scribbled in Sly's messy cursive was written, 'Went to the ball with Monique. I'll be back, maybe in a few days. Don't wait up... again." Bentley felt like screaming! He didn't want his best friend to have his arms wrapped around a dangerous, rich and beautiful criminal. Especially when Sly was so vulnerable to pretty girls. Damn, all those beautiful girls. _  
_


	7. Chapter 7

DiScLaImEr: I do not by any was own any of these characters except Monique Devereaux. The others belong to Suckerpunch Inc.

Chapter 7

Sly was happy, scratch that, estatic. He was just dancing with the most beautiful girl in the world and she just told him to follow her out into the hallway. He watched her drift away in a dress that made her look amazingly gorgeous and almost uncontrollably sexy, almost, he still had his control. She looked back to see him about 20 feet behind her, a goofy smile on his face. She ran back, grabbed his hand and they started making their way through the crowd. They finally left the huge tiled ballroom and were now in a dark hallway. She put her back against the wall and grabbed both of his hands. She looked up at Sly and saw he had a questioning look. She smiled and put his hands on her hips and kissed him. And that's what made Sly happy. They started kissing, actually, they started making out. They heard footsteps behind them but they didn't care and they didn't stop until they heard, "Cooper, put up your hands!" He recognized the voice as Carmelitas and spun around instantly. He saw her holding up her signature shock pistol too his chest. She was wearing a stunning black dress. An akward moment passed. Carmelita thought the annoyed girl looked familiar. "Excuse me? Did you just say Cooper?" Moique said, she looked very mad. She started fiddling with her diamond necklace.

"Yes, Sylvester Cooper. Leader of the Cooper Gang. World-famous theif." Carmelita started listing his stats.

"Carmelita, what are you doing here?" Sly said, trying to change the subject and shed some light as to why she was here. "I'm friends with Lucy Scattini." She said bluntly. "And, to you I'm Inspector Fox." It was silent once again, no one knew how to carry on from there. Sly glanced over at Monique, he hands still raised. She looked enraged, and she was still fiddling with her diamond necklace, irritatedly. "Sly, you son of a bitch. You lied to me and you're cheating on me." Monique finally said. That caught both Sly and Carmelita off gaurd. "No, Ma'am. I'm the Inspector who's been tracking his ringtailed bottom all over the world." Carmelita said at the same time Cooper said, "No, baby, I'd never cheat on you. She's just some crazy cop." Monique shook her head and said threateningly, "You lied to me, Sly." She then jumped forward and grabbed Carmelita's shock gun. She forced them both to so there backs were against the wall. "Ma'am, please, remain calm. Put my gun down and I'll let you go, scott-free. Cooper is the one I want here."

"Don't worry, I can see how much you want him." Monique said and with a quiet blast she shot Carmelita with her own shock pistol. Carmelita slupped over, unconscious. Sly eyes widened, what had he got himself into? "Monique, Beautiful-" He started but was interupted by her. "That's what they call me," She said snidely, and then with one more quiet blast Sly was knocked out.

Carmelita woke up first. She felt fine except for a bad headache. She was handcuffed to a bar in what looked like a dance studio. It was a large room with bars on all four sides. One wall was covered in broken glass. She looked around and saw Sly, he was handcuffed on the wall next to hers, and since she was on a bar she slid her handcuffs down and when she was close enough to Sly she gasped. There was blood caked on his head. She tried to shake him with her foot and after a moment he opened his eyes just barely. His head hurt very badly and his arms ached. He opened his heavy eyes to see Carmelita, handcuffed right next to him, her face full of concern. "Carmelita..." He said softly and hoarsely. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, chico... it's not your fault." She said sternly. He closed his eyes, he hurt. He kept his eyes closed for a few moments until he heard Carmelita say, "Beautiful girls are deceptive, aren't they?" He opened one eye and searched her face and knew she was talking about Neyla, her partner who betrayed and framed her. "You never betrayed me." He said, closing his eyes again. She was glad he couldn't see her face because she smiled. She knew he was being honest. Her happiness only lasted a few seconds because it was soon replaced with worry that he'd fall asleep and slip into a coma. She tried to think of something. "What's you favorite color?" She blurted out. 'Smooth, muchacha.' She thought and was suprised to hear him say, "Brown."

"Why?" She said. Thinking about her favorite color was navy blue.

"Because I fell in love with a brown eyed girl awhile ago." Sly whispered. Carmelita began going through the facts and statistic she had memorized about Monique Devereaux. Her eyes were hazel. She gasped when she realized she had brown eyes. She saw him smile at her reaction. "How about you?" She told him it was navy blue.

"Why?" He asked her.

"Well, when I was little, when my dad was an officer he always said that whenever you see navy it means that a police officer is watching you. When he would go away I would always draw and write in navy blue. I fell in love with the color."

"Cute." Sly said, trying to keep the conversation going. "My turn."

"What? What'dya mean, your turn?" Carmelita asked him. Cooper was getting into his mysterious ways. "We're playing truth. Aren't we?" Sly tried to chuckle but stopped. His ribs hurt too. He wanted to take off his shirt so he could examine the damage. He looked at his hands, they were in handcuffs. "Okay, like I was saying, my turn. Which kiss did you like more, the one on the volcano

or the one at the police station?" He grinned looking at her embarrassment. He put his attention back on his handcuffs. "Um, i guess i'd have to say the one at the police station. At least you didn't lock me up." She said truthfully, watching him fiddle with the handcuffs. After a moment of silence, he pulled one hand free. He shouted involuntarily with pain as his arms dropped onto the ground. He closed his eyes because they started to water. "I'm okay." He said quickly. He added arms to his list of things that hurt. She watched him in quiet fascination as he slowly moved his hands to the lapels of his jacket. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes in pain as he removed his jacket. Once his jacket was off, he began to untie his tie. Carmelita watch helplessly and transfixed by his determination. "What are you doing?" She finally asked. "I'm taking off my shirt." he replied no-nonsense-like. "Oh." She said. He finally got his tie off and he flung it in the pile he was making. His hand traveled to the top of the shirt and he closed his eyes in pain. Blindly, he slowly but steadily began to unbutton his shirt. Once it was off Carmelita gasped. Sly opened his eyes. His gray fur was matted with blood in certain places and he became suddenly light-headed. "This couldn't have been just from falling to the ground, some one beat me." He said angrily. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Things were looking grim. He wasn't bound anymore but he could barely move. If he tried to stand up then he'd probably pass out. On top of that Inspector Fox was right next to him. She would haul him off to jail the second she could.

Carmelita could see he had been drawn into a world of his own. She started to become concerned after a few minutes. "Did you love her?" She suddenly asked. Her plan worked, his eyes snapped open. He looked at Carmelita for a few minutes. "Ya know, I have no idea." Sly admitted.

"I thought I was, I mean, I was so happy with her. But there were times I wanted to just stop and walk away. Most of the time she was happy and nice but sometimes she would say something really crazy or do something really weird. I doubted it for sure but, she made me the happiest i'd been in a really, really long time." Sly told her. She was very suprised by how open he was. They thought about that for a minute when she broke the silence again. "Sorry to be demanding, but, can you get me out of these things?" She said, jangling the hadcuffs.

"No." Sly said, one word. No. "You'll cart me to jail and i'm in no shape to make a getaway. I'll probably keep you there for an hour or two until I can think of something."

Carmelita's mouth fell open in disbelief. "You're an honest thing, aren't you?"

"Always have been, always will be." Sly said suavely. It grew quiet again. Sly was still thinking about how to get out of here but was making no progress. "How's the planning going, ringtail?" Carmelita said.

"A pet name, hm? I like it." He said, smiling at the police officer. She didn't even bother to rebuke, she just let it slide. She smiled. 'Even with his head all bloody and his ego bruised he really is handsome.' She thought.

Sly smiled even larger at her smile. She was so beautiful when she smiled. All the feelings he used to hold for her seem to flood back into his heart. "The planning isn't going anywhere though," He finished.

"I have an idea." She said. "You let me go and i'll take you to your home and then in three weeks I'll resume my search on you." Carmelita liked the idea. She knew he would be up and running in three weeks.

"Thats a good plan, gorgeous." He said to her, "But there're three flaws. One: even if I did let you go then how would I get out? Two: if I come back to the safe house like this i'll have to explain what happened to the guys and they'll become paranoid and want to move. And last, but not least," he paused and winked at her. "If you took me home you'd know where I live and then we'd have to leave for sure." Carmelita thought about how to fix the three flaws and when she figured it out she said, "Okay, ringtail, i'll take you to my house and once your healthy ill give you a day to get home and then we'll resume our chasing." She smiled, she was proud of herself for figuring it out.

Sly thought a moment. "I like it." He said, "But, how am I gonna get out of here?" Carmelita laughed. "I can carry you." Sly looked bewildered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. You can't be a Inspector at Interpol without being in good condition."

"Okay, fine." Sly said, won over by her arguments. He slunk his way over the few feet between them. He reached his hand up to her hair, and, for a second, Carmelita thought he was gonna run his hand through it. She was suprised when he pulled his hand back and in his palm was a bobby pin. He picked the lock and once she was free, she shook her wrists. She stood up and made sure her body was okay. "Okay, Sly, this is gonna hurt." She said. She gasped as she realized she just called him by his first name. Sly chuckled, "Getting a little friendly are we, Carm?"

"My name's Carmelita." She said stubbornly. He opened his mouth to say something but she

said, "And that doesn't give you permission to call me that. I'm still Inspector Fox."

"Okay, Inspector Fox. I can handle pain." She shrugged and took both of his hands. A spark of feeling spread through both of their bodies at the touch. She ignored it and heaved him up in her arms. He grunted in pain. She smiled down at him in her arms. "Now this is kinda akward." He said. They both started laughing and they walked out the door of what was sure to be a broken down dance studio in Paris.

THE END


End file.
